New Delhi, Nov. 25: By day, he is forced to shuttle from jail to court. By evening, it’s the shuttlecock that keeps A. Raja on toes.

Life in jail has helped the former telecom minister revive an old passion his life in politics appeared to have snatched — badminton.

“After returning from the trial court, I play badminton with jail officials. Besides, I go for morning walk daily for an hour before being taken to the court. It’s a good way of staying fit,” Raja said yesterday during a chat with this correspondent inside the courtroom.

His love for the game goes back several years. “I played badminton regularly till 1998. But after becoming a minister in the Vajpayee-led NDA government in 1999, I stopped playing… I had no time as I got involved in politics too much after that. It is only after coming to Tihar that I started playing again after 12 years,” Raja said, the trademark smile intact.

Play over, time for work. Raja pores over the 2G case papers, tapping into his experience as a lawyer. “Before I joined politics, I was a trial court lawyer, so I know the tricks of the trade. I have examined all documents related to the case as well as the CBI’s chargesheet. It took me several months to study the papers and I have almost prepared my arguments to defend myself,” Raja, in jail since February 2, said.

The former lawyer is also helping his jail mates, many of them undertrials languishing for years, with legal advice. “There are many undertrials who are illiterate and too poor to hire a lawyer…. I provided legal advice to some of them and they are very happy.”

Raja said he had made several friends. “I interact with inmates and listen to their problems. I never look down on them just because I was a minister once. I keep a low profile. That’s why they respect me…. Whenever they see me, they say namaste with folded hands…. I have become friends with several of them.”

The former minister has no complaints against jail officials. “They have treated me well. They have looked after me quite well and I am thankful to them,” he said.

Unlike some of his other co-accused, Raja is seldom tense, and is seen smiling and cracking jokes, sometimes even in the courtroom.

One example comes through, instantly. Noticing Raja talking to this correspondent, DMK MP Kanimozhi, sitting behind him, asked him to keep quiet. “The judge will throw you out for talking inside the courtroom,” she warned.

But Raja retorted: “It will be good if he throws me out… I will go home (to jail) then.” The repartee brought a smile on the face of Kanimozhi and her husband, G. Aravindan.

Raja’s wife drops by the court only occasionally. But he gets sentimental while remembering his only school-going daughter. “I miss her badly but cannot help it.”